Meanwhile, other slain Iranian soldiers were buried yesterday. Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Speaker Hojjat ol Eslam Mohammad Hassan Aboutorabi Fard, and President Rouhani’s Chief of Staff Mohammad Nahavandian were among the mourners for Revolutionary Guards members Abdollah Bagheri Neyraki and Amin Karimi.

Both Neyraki and Karimi served in the Guards’ Ansar al-Mahdi Security Unit, which provides security for senior regime officials. Neyraki was one of Ahmadinejad’s bodyguards.

Iranian forces have been in Syria since 2012, mainly as advisors, for logistics, or as commanders for the development of the National Defense Forces militia. However, Iran’s involvement — and the death toll — has soared in the Assad regime’s multi-front offensive in northwest Syria, which is also backed by Russian airstrikes, Hezbollah fighters, and Iraqi militia.

One website tracking the deaths lists 29 casualties, including five commanders, since October 7. The list begins with General Hossein Hamedani, the overall Iranian commander in Syria, who was slain by the Islamic State near Aleppo three weeks ago.

About The Author

Scott Lucas is Professor of International Politics at the University of Birmingham and editor-in-chief of EA WorldView. He is a specialist in US and British foreign policy and international relations, especially the Middle East and Iran. Formerly he worked as a journalist in the US, writing for newspapers including the Guardian and The Independent and was an essayist for The New Statesman before he founded EA WorldView in November 2008.